Weird Dreams

Over the last couple of months, my nightmares have become weird. I’m being chased by garden gnomes. Scary garden gnomes on top of that. How does a garden gnome become scary? I don’t know. I just know that the stupid dream which should have just be categorized as “weird” woke me up in a fit of terror. I’m not phobic of garden gnomes, I think they are pretty cute. So, it’s strange to be terrorized in my dreams by yard ornament.

Unfortunately, it isn’t just garden gnomes that now plague my nightmares. Dragons, hippos, topiary (I will admit that I’m slightly phobic of topiary thanks to Stephen King, but I’ve never dreamed about it before), and shoes with broken heels are also among the strange occurrences. Here’s the thing, I don’t wear shoes with heels and frankly, if I did and they broke, it wouldn’t require me to panic. It might require me to become extremely annoyed, but instill me with fear… I think not. Yet, in the dream, it does.

How do I write about death, gore, and horror when I’m suddenly dreaming about terrifying events like dragons raiding my mother’s garden? Or hippos chasing dogs through the streets of my hometown?